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Student riots pressurize rector of Pristina State University to resign

Student protests flared up after it become known that some of the University academic works had been falsified

BELGRADE, February 09, 3:58 /ITAR-TASS/. Rector of Pristina’s State University Ibrahim Gashi told a Kosovo television channel on Saturday that a week of student unrest had forced him to step down.

Student protests flared up after it become known that some of the University academic works had been falsified. Twenty-nine policemen were injured and 33 demonstrators were arrested in the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo on Friday.

A group of students from Pristina University told a news conference the same day that they were finishing the five days of protests but would resume the action on Monday. They accused the rector of corruption and falsification of scientific works and demanded his resignation. They threatened to seek Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s resignation if Gashi refused to step down.

Reports alongside said that the thesis had been published in non-existent scientific magazines and approved by scientific councils.

The reaction of parliament’s opposition parties was immediate. They urged the rector to leave his post but he refused to resign at first. The University conflict caused turmoil in the streets. The authorities were forced to call in police. The Kosovo government has already suggested checking all dubious academic works.